Chusovitina, 46, brings curtain down on legendary career

Veteran Oksana Chusovitina called time on her legendary career on Sunday night after competing at a record eighth Olympic Games.

After failing to secure a spot in Sunday's vault final, the 46-year-old, representing Uzbekistan, waved to the small crowd inside Tokyo's Ariake Gymnastics Center, made a heart shape with her hands and briefly cried.

"We thank her for her contributions to artistic gymnastics," the arena announcer said while athletes, officials and media workers gave Chusovitina a standing ovation as she left the sport's biggest stage for the last time.

Born in Uzbek capital Tashkent in 1976, Chusovitina took up gymnastics at age 7, following her older brother into the sport.

"My mother did not want me to do gymnastics, she was worried about me all the time. I wanted to prove to her that I was not doing it in vain, and I think I eventually succeeded in that," Chusovitina once said of her childhood.

She made her Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games as part of the gold medal-winning Unified team, comprised of athletes from former Soviet states.

She then represented Uzbekistan, before being granted German citizenship in 2006. She took home a vault silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games for Germany, but switched back to competing for Uzbekistan in 2013. Chusovitina is one of just two female gymnasts to represent three different nations at the Olympic Games.

When Chusovitina's 3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, she sold her possessions and used any prize money she earned to pay for his medical treatment. Her switch to German citizenship was motivated by the promise of a higher income and better medical care.

After her son's recovery, Chusovitina continued to compete, but this time it was her love of gymnastics that kept her going. "There is no secret. I just love gymnastics and no one ever forced me to compete. I do so with pleasure," she said.

With blue, white and green nail polish in the colors of the Uzbek national flag on her fingers and wearing bright earrings, Chusovitina looked as if she was still relishing competing in Tokyo.

On her first jump, her right foot stepped out of bounds on dismount, scoring 14.500 points. With another error in her landing, she received 13.833 points for her second jump. When her final score of 14.166 and a ranking of 11th was displayed on the screen, Chusovitina buried her petite body in her coach's broad arms as she was overcome with emotion.

She said she had been crying "tears of happiness, because so many people have supported me for such a long time", adding: "I'm just so grateful."

With COVID-19 rules keeping fans out of the venue, Chusovitina admitted the atmosphere wasn't what she had hoped.

"I would have loved to have spectators," she said. "Of course in terms of performance, it's better when it's just you and the apparatus. But every athlete needs this attention and applause."

"Maybe I'll skip Paris (2024 Games), and go to Los Angeles (2028 Games) for the applause," she joked.

In a sport renowned for its youthful champions, Chusovitina has become a global fan favorite thanks to her longevity. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017, and last year was named the Best Athlete of the Decade (2011-2020) in a public vote held by the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan.

She has collected 11 medals at major global championships and has five eponymous gymnastics skills to her name.

Chusovitina planned to retire after the London 2012 Olympics, but changed her mind and returned. She insisted there would be no U-turn on this occasion.

"My son is 22 years old and I want to spend time with him," she told reporters, according to The Guardian. "I want to be a mom and wife."